MILWAUKEE – What started as a slow-paced grappling battle turned into a thrilling slobberknocker at the end, with Chico Camus rebounding from a rough start to claim a unanimous decision victory over Kyung Ho Kang (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

The bantamweight bout was part of today’s UFC 164 event at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following additional prelims on Facebook and ahead of a main card on pay-per-view.

Kang seemed to be firmly in control of the action in the first round, forcing Camus to spend almost the entire frame playing defense off his back. But in the second, Camus came roaring back, and a late upkick in the third hurt Kang and nearly led to a TKO stoppage as time ran out. In the end, it proved to be enough for Camus, who had the support of the hometown crowd and thanked trainer Duke Rufous in his post-fight remarks.

“It didn’t happen the way I wanted it to, but I got the victory in front of my hometown crowd and it’s a dream come true,” Camus said. “It was incredible in there. Hearing them cheer my name made me feel like I had a second guy in the cage with me. Milwaukee was great today. Six years ago, I fell into a martial arts gym and it has changed my life. Without my coaches, teammates and my family, I wouldn’t be where I was today.”

“It was a very tough fight for me,” Kang said. “His moves surprised me on the ground and kind of broke me from my game plan since I wasn’t able to keep him there. I train in all aspects for this sport, so I always plan to go back and improve in every part of the game.”

With the win, Camus (13-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) bounces back from his first UFC loss in February. Kang (11-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) remains winless in the UFC, suffering his first official loss since February 2012.

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